flash flooding all the way up the east coast. the soaker started in parts o south florida earlier today making everyday chores and the commute miserable. crews at the beach spent the morning filling sand bgs and at pompano beach, rain pooled in streets. for others along the eastern seaboard it was a day to prepare for nicole's arrival. >> we have not had a major storm in north myrtle beach in ten years. >> reporter: the mayor warned residents that there could be some low-lying flooding and some rip currents but did not expect nicole would dever more. >> we're not looking for a lot of major damage or anything like that. we're not recommending anyone board up. the sustained winds are supposed to get no more than 45 miles per hour, so we feel like we're in ood shape. >> nicole's pattern is similar

to to previous storms, hurricane flood in 1999 and dennis in 2 5 2005. both caused significant flooding and damage in florida, the carolinas, and parts of the northeast. and now that nicole is getting ready to leave her mark, the question is how much damage will she leave behind. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> folks throughout prince georges county are preparing for the possibility that we'll get heavy rain. in edmunds ton, they're working to clear the areas. they've been taking preventive measures since then. >> d.c. has just started handing o free sandbags as of 4:00. that's happening at new jersey and k streets. it's starting to drizzle now, but the heavier stuff is on the way. >> meteorologist veroni johnson has the latest. veronica. >> thanks a lot, guys. there's a definite possibility we could see some flh flooding around here, not just tomorrow,

but i think also tomorrow night. let's take a look outside and see what's going on. we've got gray skies throughout the ea. meanwhile, points south of us, they've been getting heavy rain. miami, florida, look at the rainfall, 4.12 inches of rain. that's pretty common in areas of southern florida. so where is this system right now? well, it's between cuba and miami right now. it's just on the south side. so they've been getting the heavy rain working right up on the atlantic side of florida, even rain coming into areas like jacksonville, florida. you can see that onshore circulation from palm bay down to miami. now, that's assocated with tropical storm nicole that got named shortly after 11:00 a.m. this morning but look at the rain around north carolina. that's a separate low pressure system. and at's what's going to be aiding in our troubles here, the fact that we're getting really soaked right now, som of those

spots down south. so then we're going to see training tomorrow with areas getting just soaked and then soaked again. one to two inchesnd the another one to two inches. this goes down through north carolina. so here' what we're thinking. round one tonight with heavy rain, ssible flooding and one to two inches. then another one to two inches tomorrow night wh wind gusts perhaps arnd 40 to 45 miles per hour that means we could see some downed trees and downed power lines right now. our temperatures right now in your 60s for your good night forecast. rain will be picking up in intensity. it will get heavier. i think definitely after 2:18 in the morning and going through the morning rush. we'll talk more about that. wll talkmounts and wind, too, in just a few minutes. >> thank you. >> veronica and doug are hosting a web chat. go to nbcwashington.com.

a man fell to his death trying to escape a devastating fire at a high-rise apartment. dozens more injured, some critically. it start on 16let street in colombia heights neighborhood. no more word yet on the cause. tracee wilkins has the story. >> repoer: people who witnessed the fire in the 3100 block of 16th street, it began as one of the most graphic scenes they'd ever seen. >> as i walked out, there were people lying on the ground, burned up, clothes half burned off. >> reporter: when the firefighters arrived a number were still trapped inside. dozens were evaluated on the scene. 18 people were transported to the hospital including one child. also a man who jumped from the sixth floor to avoid flames. >> we have one fatality, six folks in ctical condition, which are adults, one child in

critical condition, and several others transported. >> reporter: firefighters say they believe it started on the sixth floor near a stairwell. when they arrived the fire exended to the roof. >> i don't know if it was something burning, rubber or something, because the smoke was really potent. >> rorter: she said it 'twas smell of that tent and unusual smoke that she remembers most. when she could. find an exit out, she quickly made her way to a window. >> the smoke i was breathing in at that point, i mean it was really, really strong and had me choking and coughing almost right away. >> reporter: residents were loaded on to metro buses and transported to mini shelters. many won't be able to return for days. the cause of the fire conditions. officials are keeping in mind the large number of arsons that have happened to the cars in the area along 16th street in the

pa several weeks. we're looking at all of that very carefully. i thinkky say at this point we've not found the nexus if there is one, but knowing that there has been so many fires in this area, we're looking for any common threads. >> at noinlt investigate ors ar not tying what happened here to the arsons that happened on the 16th street corridor involving vehicles, but they are asking people who have information in either of these incidents to give them a call at crime solvers. in northwest, i'm tracee wilkins, "news 4." >> and we've learned that a relative of the man who died did not jump. he said he was trying to repel down a cordnd broke thatcord. john will have more on that coming up at "news 4 at 5:00." >> officersrrest add 21-year-old last night in the murder. gunshots rang out during lunchtime as people left a funeral. we'll have much more on the arrest coming up here at 5:30.

students from st. stevens and st. agnes school got quite the square when their school bus collided with two vehicles. it happened while they were on a field trip in potomac. the bus driver went to the hospital along with one of the driver os testify car. none of the nerl two dozen children aboard were injured. no word yet on what caused the crash. former president jimmy caer canceled the book signings tonight in the d.c. area. he had two stops to promote his book. he was checked into a hospital in cleveland after experiencing an upset stomach on a flight. the hospital says the former president will stay another night in the hospital and that he is in very good spirits. just aew minutes ago the house arove add bill to give more than 700 million to the workers who got sick at the world trade clean-usite. president obama got a political

back stab fm his own party. more than three dozen joined with the republicans joined to ake clear they opposehe obama plan to raise taxes on the well-off americans. >> reporter: president obama got the embarrassing news in iowa where his rocket ride to the white house began in '08. to help balance the budget he promised then to end now the bush era tax cut. you just can't do it. >> reporter: but back in washington, a backstab. democrats lacking the votes to win moved to adjourn. >> on this vote the ayes are 21 the nays are 209. >> american people know that raising taxes on americans are l not create jobs. that's why it's unbelievle

that democrats would adjourn this congress without an up or down vote without extding it all. in the democratically controlled sen at -- >> i object. >> gridlock. on even routine bills. >> mr. president, i object. >> reporter: and on the big stuff, tax cuts. more delay. >> we just punted on the extension of the tax cuts or an obama tax increase. >> reporter: can the president win a tax hike on the rich aer congress comes back in november? maybe not. >> reporter: i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. in just about a month the sun will set for the last time on an iconic res sraunltd near the bay bridge. for two decades travelers through the eastern shore passed by hemingway's, but now after 20

years they say it's time to move on for a variety of reasons. for one thing their lease is rung out. five years ago they sued the owners of this site to win an extension of their ase. the yacht club says the restaurant will reopen in march after renovations. well, it seems website publisher arianna huffington wants to make sure there's a good turnout to attend the rally to restore sanity. during an appearance on stewart's show last night, anyone arriving at her show can hitch a free ride to the rally on one of her buses and she omised to provide as many buses as needed. they're holding competing rallies next month. the events are a liberal response to glenn beck's holding honor orrism. coming up next.

it's not too early to talk about the holidays. we've got a list of the top toys you'll want to get your hands on early. a big whoops. you won't believe what happened on live television on the season finale of that show. the latest entertainment the latest entertainment scoop is still ahead four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he prected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again

tell bob ehrlich big banks an'.

we have some breaking news right now out of bethesda where the bu has driven off the sky ramp at 270. these are the first live pictures. this is at that busy spur intersection right at 270. you can see emergcy vehicles have arrived on the scene. with don't know what kind of bus it is or if there are any injuries at this point, but we are efforting chopper 4 that way, and we're going to have the latest from ashley linder too. this is at the 270 split right here in bethesda. >> of course, wean't sigh the bus. we see the traffic is stopped there. we're looking at that spur that jim just referred to, the i-270. the sky ramp, what would you say, about 32 feet above the ground. we understand a bus drove off the side of ramp onto the scene below. >> they're working that scene right there. all lanes are blocked.

that's at 270 at bethesda right there at the spur, this ramp -- bus went over the side. we don't know what kind of bus again, and how many people may have been aboard that bus or if there are any injuries. this is very early. these are live pictures. again, chopper 4 is en route, and we'll have the latest from ashley linder coming up in just a bit. >> this would normally be a very, very busy time on that routes the rush hour is just beginning, rush hours in that area. i-270 at that spur in bethesda. i've traveled it many times. i know it's pretty high up. i can't see where it went off. it's hard to tell exactly where it happened, but we're waiting for more information. >> again, it's 4:15. so rush hour is starting to get into high gear. we'll stay on top of this story for you and bring you the latest as it comes in to "news 4." well, you now how reality television shows drag out the final moments before they

announce the winner. last nighton the finale of australia's show, nina has that story. >> reporter: it sounds simple enough. >> the long weeks of work, the long hours, the tears, it all comes down to this moment. the winner and australia's next top model for 2010 is -- >> reporter: for dramatic effect, get the winner's name in the ear piece, what could go wrong. kelsey had beat the favorite, amanda to the title. >> i want to thank the crew. >> reporter: but with the thank-you speeches under way, the smile on the host's face seemed to falter. >> oh, my d. i don't know what to say right now. i'm feeling a bitick about this. no.

this is not -- this is a complete accident, i'm so sorry. it's amanda. i'm so orry. it was fed to me wrong. >> that's all right. >> this is what happens when you have live tv. >> reporter: she should know about live tv because herather is rupert murdoch. >> she's just too principled. she would not be a part of that. >> of course, it felt really good to win for that 13 seconds. >> reporter: kelsey's reign wa all too brief. the embarrassment will last much longer. >> you have two winners and maybe threehree losers. >> well, the runner-up will be compensated. she'll get about $26,000 and a trip to new york. well, if you've ever gotten caught up in the last-minute

rush for a hot holiday toy and come away empty-handed, you know it can play off. >> today they showed off some toys on its annualist of holiday favorites, and they've got good news for you. retail prices are expected to be lower this year. they say 99% of toys will be under $50 this year. >> the most wanted list includes paper jams, a cardboard guitar with sensors beneath its surface,nd there are new lego games and gameboard two. there's a kindle-type device called the v-reader and for children who dodd do not read yet there are toys called sing-a-ma-jigs. if you squeeze their tummies, they can sing, and if yu put moretogeer, they can harmonize.

ashley linder joins us. >> reporter: this is going to have f-reaching effects. we've already had a pretty nasty way under way. this is just adding to it. this is a live shot of the accident that has all lanes blocked at the 270 spur. this is going to directly affect drivers coming out of virginia to commit to 270 and then those drivers who are merely take 2g 70 to continue their trip out of virginia. let me show you. this is the pa poen. i promise you the delays are pretty substantial. look at that. nothing is moving on 270 north. obviously so witho lanes open and these lanes do kick back as you might imagine to the capital beltway. it was a very nasty commute a you made your approach. as y can see, inching along painfully slow and the inner loop, by the way, is headed away from the camera here up toward e top of your screens,

continue onto 270. and then again as we make the pass, democracy boulevard, it is just"i inching along. unfortunately they're moving the cameras around because it is a live accident. the ramp that comes around is a flyover ramp to continue on the hov lanes to continue northbound ong 270. the best workaround, there's not really a direct one, but 29 working its way through bethesda. but those lays -- excuse me -- those workarounds are not going to last for a very long time because a lot of the driversre going to have the same idea, and ere's only two or three really solid alternatives to 270 this this stretch. so it's going to be a very, very nasty, nasty ride home to say the least. and from our understanding there is no word on when they plan on reopening it. obviouslythe safety and restructure is going to be the first issue and then traffic will be the second.

but not the day to commit to the roadways if you didn't have to. back do you guys. >> let's find out more about that captain oscar garcia from the montgomery fire & rescue joins us. capta captain, tell what happened. do we understand a bus was actually involved? it wind over the sky ramp? >> according to the 911 call we got shortly after 4:00 p.m., a bus overturned off the sky ramp, went over barrier. we're assessing approximately 10 to 15 patients, some with serious life-threatening injuries. we're i the process of extra indicating 2 dozen. >> what kind of bz are we talking about? >> unfortunately i don't know what type of bus. i do know we're assessing 10 to 15 patients. >> can you tell us if there are alts or are we talking about

school bus, metro bus or childrenhen you're saying patients. >> the limited information is we have adults with serious life-threatening injuries. >> can you describe the accident to us? we're looking at a live picture write now, captain garcia, and we don't see a bus. did it come over the edge at the top of the sky ramp? did it land on its top? on its wheels? can you tell us what happened? >> at this point i don't have a good vantage point of what you're looking at. i can tell you that apparently this bus was damaged enough to at least pin one of the occupts inside. we did extry indicate that one patient, but, again, looking to treat a of these at one point. >> were a other vehicles involved, particularly on the lanes below, do we know, captain? >> my understanding again is traffic should be sh down north and southbound lanes at

this point. we have those who are in the stage airing ya to get some of the patients out from that area, but at this point that should be closed off. i'm not sure. >> did you say you're still in the process of trying to remove some of those people from the bus? >> yeah. my understanding is that there very three or four in the bus who were trapped by some debris. at least one person was pinned. we did ve an extrication group. as of about 4:20, we did finish extra indicating. >> do we know yet where they would be take snn. >> there are a number of local hospitals in the area. we do have a choice and we're working through that, talking to the emergency rooms, seeing how many patients they're able to take kaur of.

>> thank you very much for that information. and we'll continue to follow that story and bring our viewers more information. >> they're facing severe backup both directions on the american legion bridge. we'll have much more and stay on think about the internet.

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we are waiting for a wallop as you described it. >> yes, we are. get ready. >> we're going to need the big umbrella r the big soakg drops, and when we get the wind, we've got several flashlights handy because could be looking at power outages. let's take a look outside and see what's going on. we've got lots of cloud cover. chu doug and i were getting a good chuck the weather center. people have been saying, hey, when are we going to get the rain? we have en. generally light just to thewest of us. we have the showers coming down right now. the dew point is 59 degrees with the air becoming more turated. you saw the wind out of the east at 3 miles per hour. right now at 3 miles per hour,

but, boy, that's going to be picking up in a big way. maybe a few embedded thunderstorms. probably not the wind yet. thank's going to wait until tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening. we could see a lot of fog across the area. here's a look at the you can see down south. that's where the moderate rain srks areas around richmond. eastern areas of north e rain carolina. that's assocted wi the itial low pressure area. that's the one making its way in to the area later tonight. one for the morning rush will be comg over. it will be coming over and get us going. the going will be this one late in theday tomorrow, tomorrow night. that isindeed tropical storm nicole. the rain from it, you could see around key west to miami and right on up the coast. coral gables, florida, almost three inches, four inches of rain. vero beach, that's not much.

.48 inches and miami, 4 inches of rain. again, it two low pressure systems. will become subtropical but still again meeting up with this next low pressure system that's already sitting over us. so it tracks right on up the coast 8:00 p.m. thursday. it's p around the coast. at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow it's around carolina. here you go. aisle back out of the way. you cansee how wet we're going toalbuquerque especially early tomorrow morning. late we get wind and also rain. so a wi area of rain two to four inches on thursday. 60 to 64 for this evening. ur temperature tomorrow morning, 60 to 65. again, it's going to be very nasty for the morning rush and very nasty for the evening rush. 75 to 80. could see some winds tomorrow. up around 40 to 45 miles per hour. i think it's still going to be windy on friday. so a nasty go of it throughout the day on thursday.

>> all right. >> okay. thank you. >> you bet. >> there is a lot more to come on "news 4" at 4:00. what happened here on u street yterday was without any question one of the most brazen shootings that's ever happened in d.c. >> next, mayor adrian fenty talking about police making a quick arrest on u street. >> plus, someone left acaged dog behind the dumpster in d.c. the dog's story coming up at 4:55. we're continuing to follow breaking news in montgome county. a bus crash on i-270. there are life-threatening injuries and horrendous backups.

welcome back. we are getting newive pictures in from this bus accident onhe i-270 spur. take a look. it looks to be as though it is a tour bus. fire rescue workers have been working ing ting t ing ting to. >> this is as much as we know right now. this happened just a few minutes after 4:00 on i-270 at the spur.

a bus went off the sky ramp there, and as we just heard just a few minutes ago when we talked to captain oscar garcia, at least 10 to 15 people, some with life-threatening injuries have be removed from that bus. we're looking at peoplethere. we cannot tell if they're still trying to extry indicate people there but they're trying to remove people from the bus that you're seeing. >> all north and southbound lanes, you should know, are blocked, and there are horrendous backups in both directions on the american legion bridge. drivers coming out of west virginia, as we heard from ashley linder, appareny impacted by this crash. apparently we heard word and captain garcia used the phrase ovturned. this is at the busy spur in bethesda. we don't know whether any other vehicles on the lower lanes of traffic were involved in this accident, b we do know that the bus went don.

we don't know exactly how high that is, but this is a heavily traveled area, especially as we head into rush ho right now. there's the backup we're talking about. american legion bridge right here, both directions, barely moving. particularly the slower si is coming out of virginia. this is an area, folks, where you want to steer clear of for quite some time becaus once they get everything anne of this bus and out of the area, they still have to get them to the hospital. we he ambulances, fire units as you see l over this area. >> what we were just looking at is the american legion bridge, that's 495, the beltway. we want you to undetand traffic is absolutely stopped on i-the 70 northbound at this time. >> we're looking at someone injured there being lift onto a gurney. they're setting up tarps. this as rain is picking up. here is one person who has been pulled ought of that bus.

we don't know how many remain on the bus,f any. they were working to free three to four traps people. again, as many as 15 people were injured, some with life-threatening injuries. >> in fact, captain garcia told us that one person was actually pinned inside the bus, and that took quite some time for them to ext extra indicate that person. >> you can see, barbara, that the windows there have been either knocked out or pulledut by rescue workers trying to get the people out of their seats. they were trapped inside this bus. all of the windows a out on the side of this bus. we look at it, and it looks like a tour bus, but it also looks li a short tour bus, not one of the mammoth ones we see around the city. we're trying to make out the letters. i heard in my e the letters

"wolves," but that's as much as we can ake. i'm trying to see. it looks like they're removing debris. >> it's hard to see if there are tracks coming down the hillside. we don't know if the bus took a running leap off the side of that and fell to the road below or if it actually came down the side of the hill, which is where it seems to have come to rest that. could have happened, either one of those types of accidents. >> you know, just doing a quick count, itooks like they've got 12 rows, maybe four or five across, so if you do the math there, 12 with four across, you've got the possibity of many people aboard this bus. again, we're only hearing as many as 15 patients injured, so we don't kn if that bus was actually full as it headed off the sky ramp and overturned, again, on 270 here in bethesda. weee that moving van there.

we see rescue vehicles all around. they have descended into the area because thousands take this route home. >> you heard ashley linder say if this commute takes you anywhere nea there, you should plan on waiting a while before you leave. that's the look. traffic slow in both directions. almost to standsti in both directions. >> you know, it doesn't look as though there was any type of five or explosion volvedbut it's very apparent that they have knockeded out windows from nont all the way to the back to get at these passengers aboard this bus. >> we were told that of the 10 to 15, there were several with life-threatening injuries he said they would be removed to the local hospitals in the area. we presume that those with the

most serious injuries will be taken to the hospital already. >> we still don't know how far a plunge it was, whether it was at the height of this ramp or on a lower end. so we don't know how far the bus actually went down. but it is actuallyff of the road now, as you ee. there's a concrete barrier, if you will, on the side there from theemergency lane. >>nd as captain oscar garcia described it, the bus actually, he said, went through the concrete barrieron the side, so we don't know if that was over land, as i was described before, so that it might have come down the hillside or actually way up, you know 30, 50 feet in the air, as we can see as the chopper hovers over the upper ramp. >> here comes another, speaking u of another ramp. i've counted four so far. captain garcia mentioned a number of hospitals they could

be going to. they're on standby. again, this is not slow motion, fo folks. this is a live picture of the backups there on the american legion bridge. that's just how slow they're ving. >> now it looks like -- jim, we're seeing where the bus went off. that's where it broke through, broke through the ramp and actually traveled down the side f a green covered hillside is the wayt looks and then came to restere at the bottom. of course, we're speculating now. we can't tell for sure. it does look fr the tracks we see if you can pan back up, we can probably see that again. but you can see where it actually broke through the concrete barrier there on the sky ramp. there we are. >> and the grassy area may have saved the day for se. it did not go road to road, pavement to pavement directly as we see. it probably -- those trees and the grassy area may have broken, if you will, some of the speed

and momentum going down to the side of the road there below. >> we are waiting to find out where the patients, the people who were onboard that bus, have been taken for treatment, to find out what a is the extent of their injuris. we do understand that some are facing some pretty life-threatening injuries. >> well, we've got to assume and 'm assumi here that the bus did land upright, which is a good thing in terms of rescuing and getting at some of these trappe passengers. again, not to repeat, but if you're just joining us, three to four people were trapped inside. they had to be extra indicated. ten to 15 have been treated. some have been taken away to hospitals in the area. some with life-threatening injuries. this all unfolded at 4:00 this afternoon on 270 in bethesda. >> exactly at the sometime that our rush hours begin here in the

washington area, just about 4 0 4:00, and we can see the results of the stoppage of traffic on th streets all around the area. again, i-495 at the american legion bridge leading up to i-270 where we know the traffic is stopped northbound. >> again, we know it looks like a tour bus, not an extremely long one, 12, 13 roads, four acro across we're hearing as many as 15 being treated. this is going to be a long story for people now. the american legion bridge. you've got to assume some may be tuck in there for an hour or two at least. o if this is your daily commute, stay clear, folks forecast you have to cross the american legion bridge. they have blocked both directions, north and southbound

lane, certainly where the accident occurred there. >> i suspect that bckup goes pretty ch -- pretty far back in both directions. >> there, again, the bus we've been talking about, the bus that apparently went off the road just after 4:00 today. >> and you've got to wonder about the impact, if it was as gentle as we saw sloping do that grassy hill or if it was a sudden impact. on buses in general, no one's belted, so you have to wonder the extent of injuries and if people were tossed inside as it came down to a rest there, a upright rest. right now we have maryland state police with us on the phone. can you tell us how many people were injured and what's the latest in terms of people who were injured aboard this bus? >> i cannot tell youow people were injured. our troopers were there on the

scene with emergency personne obviously working to rescue those onboard and to assess the number of those injured. it's very early in this investigation a all that needs to be determined. right now we need to get everybody off the bus and get them the medical help they need and that's what they're doing. >> can you tells how far the backups go so we can at least keep abreastof what's going on there. >> >> the backups will be kp extensive. we're goin do our best to get traffic moving as quickly as we can. >> can you tell our viewers the ext location, northbound, southbound lanes, all still closed? >> it's my understanding north and southbound lanes are still closed. the crash i in the northbound side of i-270 in the area of the

sky ramp. and trooper shipley, have all of the people on the bus been industry indicate and if so where have they been take snn have they all been removed to hospitals? >> they have not all been removed to the bus and that's what our troopers and the ems personnel are attempting to do right now. >> one other question. do we know if any other vehicles were involved in this or if it's is just this one bus or what do we know about this bus? it looks to be a tour bus. >> it's my understanding it's a charter bus with parents and students onboard, but any more detail, we don't have any information. this just occurred and the troopers have a lot of questions to be answers. >> we're looking at the bus. so obviously if they can't get the people off the bus, those who are left won't be pinned in some way inside the bus? >> ma'am, i wouldn't want to conjecture at this point. it's inappropriate for me to try to guess. >> all right. trooper greg shipley, we want to

thank you for taking time with us and bringing us up to te. we want to find more information and hopefully we'll talk with you as the story uolds again. as the trooper mentioned it's happened on the northbound side. what we did find out is this is a charter bus with pants s and students aboard and some are still waiting to be extra indicated. >> again, we're looking at traffic backed up in both directions on the beltway and stopped northbound on i-270 and moving slowly in the other direction, southbound i-270 as well. initially we had heard with oscar garcia that they were treating as many as 10 to 15 parents some with life-threatening injuries. you have maryland state police, you have mtgomery county police, you have montgomery county fire and rescue there,

several ambulances we have seen so far. you want to stay clear of th area. again, this bus shortly after 4:00 rolled down off of a sky ramp at 270. this is the spur here. went down a slope, a grassy tree-filled slope, if you will. it doesn't appear, although i can't say for sure, that the bus -- whether it rolled down or if it just landed that way and stayed upright the entire way down. we do see from front to back all the side windows have been either knocked out or pulled out so fire rescue can get into these seats. >> looking at the meandering tracks we saw earlier from the place where the bus broke through the conete barrier, it looks like the wels where we saw a path that looked like wheels coming down the side of the hill. just a guess, itould look like the buzz did stay upright as it

came down the hill rather than roll down the hill. but it seems to have come fe to face with the side of the hill there as we see it smashed in at the front. the driver's side still seems to be intact. >> we're just now getting information from one of the passengers aboard. this is a driver who actually came up on the scene, that the back door, the emergency exit to this bus, when it came to a standstill was jammed. no one could get out of that back emergency it. apparently when he came up on the scene, the bus was still running and smoking when it came to a halt there. >> well, that would explain why the windows were all apparently knocked out. maybehat was the only way to extra indicate the people from the bus. the front side that would have the door where they could come out would be up against the hillside there. >> and what we're hearing, too, isthe drivers who pulled up on the scene first tried to get

people out of the bus as they waited for emergency personnel to arrive. so drives were able to get out of their cares and tried to get passengers off of the charter bus. again, this is all we know. it is a charter bus with parents and studentsaboard. as many as 15ere injured. some with life-threatened injuries. we have heard there are still people onboard the bus. >> and for people who are maybe just joining us, we're looking at a bus accident that happened at i-270 at the spur. that sky ramp there, that busy area especially this time of day. this is in bethesda, not far from 495 where that traffic you see on the bridge is backed up in both directions. we've got traffic problems all around that area, and they will continue to grow as they continue to try to clean up this

mess. people still onthe bus, we have just learned. >>nd this is once again the northbound side, but all lanes in both directions have been sh down to traffic as emergency peonnel try to get in and try to move out as fast as possible. we're going go hearing from ashley lind to get the big picture coming up shortly about any alternate routes home around this big mess here on the american legion bridge there certainly in both directions. >> and we just also hrd that they have not come up, but they're working on a plan, maryland state plan, trooper shipley get the cars moving from around the area, whether they're going to turn them around or what. there's an awful lot of traffic that's got toe moved pause there will be more coming on the roads as we move into the later commute hours. >> this is one of those wi you

try everything. to hear the back emergency door was jammed is frightening. when drivers pulled up, there was smoke coming out as well. >> you can imagine on impact, the kind of impact we can see, the front end hitting the hillside, the chassis of the bus, probably damaged. and that is probably the reason that that back door would not open. and it doesn't look like people could -- at least toward the front of the bus get out of the windows on the far side. >> apparently we're hearing from a hospital that they're waiting for ten patients. that's not too far away so, that's o positive note that one of the hospitals, the best in the region is close by. >> we heard there were ten to 15 people who suffered injuries on the bus, some we heard with

life-threatening injuries. we don't know what other hospitals were being used but we were told they would be taking them to several surrounding areas. >> one of the first things we noticed in the studio and the control room were the windows that were knocked out or pulled out. every one is knocked out. this is a different ntage point. here's a moving van right here that we're seeing and all of these fire trucks too. this is video from earlier, but this gives you an entirely difrent perspective. >> actually, jim, from that picture it looks like it's not completely jammed up. it looks like the door might have been exposed. not absolutely up againsthe hillside. but perhaps it could not be opened either because of the jamming effect of that -- of the hit. >> that slop of the grass there and brush may have made a big difference in this because we

don't have that direct impact of road-to-road it doesn't appear, but, look. extensive damage. that bus is gone, and there are still, as we understand it, still some passengers stil aboard the bus. they have tried to extricate three or four. we don't know if they all got off. again, a quick counseled the rows, i counted 10 to 12. and if they're four across -- on't know if this was a full bus, but we're hearing parents and students were on the charter bus. the name appears to be wolves on the side. >> we're hoping to get more from maryland state police. obviously they're very busy. all the police are involved in this, for sure trying get the passengers out, trying to figure out what to do with the traffic at this hour, and to get those patients to hospita so they can be treated. we have craig melvin on the scene. >> craig, what are you seeing

and where are you now? . >> reporter: jim, first of all we have the assistant. i hear one fatal, right? >> right now we have one fatality, four patients that are traumas and four others that are lesser injuries but still transporting them to local hospitals. northbound 270 underneath of the flyway to southbound 270, portal georgetown road. a 26-passenger bus has left t road. it did make contact with several other vehicles. we're currently in the extra indicati phase. the extra indication is lengthy. it's a pretty extensive etra indication. all of those have been clead. they have been treated, triaged, and transported to local hospitals.

>> reporter: the person who died, do w know if it was a drir, a passenger, or one of those in the other vehicles? >> we don't know. >> reporter:o we know the circumstances that led up to this? >> no, we're still in the beginning of this. we'll begin the reconstruction and the investigative phases as soon as we have all of our patients clear. he's going to conduct a lenty meeting now. we're hearing four or five seriously injury and they're trying to extra indicate some folks from vehicles. i can seehat some folks were ken on a stretcher and one looked to be a child. we'll pass it along as it becomes available. >> we'll be right back.

begin with that breaking news in bethesda wre a tour bus, a charter bus filled with students and parents goes off an

interstate ramp. one person has been killed. there are still some passengers waiting to be extricated. i'm jim handly. >> and i'm wendy rieger. this happened shortly before 4:00 this afternoo it has shut down i-270 right there near democracy boulevard as the bus apparently slid off the ramp. that's a live picture of chopper 4 of the bus. initially we're told from a driver near the scene, people could not get out of the emergency exit out the back and this's why the windows had to be punched out. several passeners are still on this bus, being treated on the bus,waiting to be transported. what we doknow is we have one fatality and four people who have been rushed to shock trauma or trauma patients as they're called. 26 passengers in all were on this bus this afternoon. a chartered tour bus in our region. as you know, the roads have been